8/30/2011 Are We In A Bedbug Cycle Of Growth? 

“Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Largely eradicated by the early 1940s, bed bugs were almost unheard of until recently. As infestations continue to rise, some exterminators say avoiding bed bugs is becoming more difficult for area residents.

Fogle’s Pest Control owner Jimmie Fogle said he has seen a “moderate increase” in the number of cases over the last several months.

“They are coming back, but they are not as bad as 30-40 years ago,” Fogle said. “DDT was used then to kill them before it was banned by the government.

“They are attracted to cotton and wool. We find them mostly in bedrooms and the mattresses.”

The exact cause of bed bug resurgence remains unclear, although many exterminators feel increased travel is a key factor. According to the recently released NPMA/University of Kentucky 2011 “Bugs Without Borders” survey, 99 percent of pest control specialists have seen bed bug infestations in the past year.

Gressette Pest Management has seen a 30-40 percent increase in the number of bed bug calls this year over 2010. Company representative Gene Kizer says the insects have no mode of transportation except humans.

“I have my own theory, too,” Kizer said. “We see cycles of insects come and go and we are in a cycle of bed bug growth now. That happens with all insects.”

Orkin Pest Control entomologist Stoney Bachman said the number of bed bug cases has remained steady over the last three years.

“I’d say prior to that, they were unheard of in this area,” Bachman said. “Only recently have they become a household issue. Infestations can also spread in apartments because they can travel through walls.

“Five-star hotels in New York are having bed bug problems. More are actually seen in high-end homes because those individuals often travel more.”

The blood-feeding insects are reddish-brown in color, flat and about a quarter-inch long. Signs of activity include sores on the body where bites have occurred.

Gressette pest control technician L.W. Strock III said many people don’t attribute the bites to bed bugs unless it continues to happen.

“You will see blood stains on the bed sheets,” Strock said. “Having a lot of clutter in the room also gives them ample places to hide, which requires more invasive methods of treatment.

“Stores sell pesticides labeled for bed bugs and they can be somewhat effective as long as you follow the label to its entirety. But it will take you even longer to rid the problem using that compared to what is available to exterminators.”

Although some online information sites suggest there are simple precautions travelers can take to reduce the chance of transporting bed bugs, Kizer said there is little that can be done to prevent them. The eggs are smaller than a pinhead and can be transported on shoes.

Immature or even adult bugs can often stow away in luggage without detection.

“If people are suspicious they have bed bugs, they need to call an exterminator to come out and assess the situation,” Kizer said. “They are easy to identify and are not mistaken for any other insect.”

8/28/2011 Disabled Las Vegas Man Deals With Bedbugs: Complaining For Months About Infestation At Siegel Suites Twain II

Lawrence Cabrera has been complaining for months to the management of the Siegel Suites Twain II location about bedbugs.

Finally, last week he called the Southern Nevada Health District, which found “significant bedbug infestation” at his studio apartment this week, according to a document he showed me. A Sun photographer documented the obvious infestation.

Cabrera, 62, said he was injured while working for the Union Pacific Railroad a decade ago and is on federal disability. He uses a wheelchair and suffers from nerve damage and asthma.

He’s a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Once the health department official told Siegel Suites management it had 14 days to eradicate the bedbugs, Cabrera was given a to-do list before the exterminators arrive Monday. He needs to bag his belongings, sweep, dust and vacuum his unit.

But of course, he’s unable to do so because of his disability. He says the management told him it will serve an eviction notice if he doesn’t do what’s required.

His family is in Colorado; he has a woman who comes by once per month to deliver groceries. Cabrera said that since he moved to Siegel Suites in February 2010, the ceiling of his bathroom collapsed, and he endured a break-in attempt while he was in the unit.

His rent is $650 per month.

When I alerted the health department about the threat of eviction, a spokeswoman said that on Monday morning she would be contacting Elder Protective Services and Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.

Some background on bedbugs: As the Sun noted in 2008, they were mostly eradicated by the chemical agent DDT after World War II, but began to surface again in the late 1990s and are now thriving. They are six-legged, reddish-brown insects that are nocturnal, feasting on as much as three times their weight in a single human “blood meal.” They are famously difficult to exterminate, hiding in the tiniest crevices and surviving all manner of chemical agents. They are also highly mobile, so it’s possible they aren’t isolated in Cabrera’s unit.

I went to the Siegel Suites office to speak to a manager Saturday to ask if this is an appropriate way to treat someone, especially a disabled veteran, but the manager was not in.

I left a message, and will update you when they get back to me.

Continue Reading More: Disabled Las Vegas Man Deals With Bedbugs

8/26/2011 NJ Senate Passes Aggressive Bedbug Bill: Overnight Facilities Would Be Required To Have A Plan To Combat Critters

 The state Senate passed a bill that would require facilities such as hospitals, hotels, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, boarding house and homeless shelters to have a bedbug maintenance plan in place.

The legislation (S-2543) is sponsored by state Sen. Robert Singer (R-Ocean) and passed by a 35-1 vote today.

“Any facility where people stay overnight should have a plan in place, ready to be carried out at a moments notice should bedbugs be discovered, ” Singer said. “Senior citizens, hospital patients and tourists throughout New Jersey all have a right to know that the bed they are sleeping in is clean, safe and free of bedbugs.”

“Bedbugs are a formidable pest problem that must be dealt with swiftly and efficiently, ” Singer continued. “It is in everyone’s best interest to have a comprehensive plan in place to keep people safe.”

Continue Reading More: NJ Senate Passes Aggressive Bedbug Bill

8/25/2011 British Bedbug Victims Awarded Money By Infested Airway London Hotel: $2500 Awarded For Victims Bitten 86 Times

Two British sisters, attacked by bedbugs at a two-star London hotel while celebrating one of the women’s 50th birthday last winter, were awarded 1,600 pounds (about $2,525) in an out-of-court settlement, the Daily Mail reports.

Melanie Carmen and Joy McDonagh spent three nights at the Airways Hotel in Victoria, but McDonagh’s birthday party was ruined when they suffered bites all over their bodies. Carmen was bitten 86 times, while McDonagh suffered 52 bites, and it took the women about four months to recover, the Daily Mail says.

After requesting a change of rooms, “we ended up on a higher floor. There were newspapers under the beds that were three weeks old, so it was clear to see nobody had swept there and then Joy actually found a bedbug on the pillow,” Carmen told the paper.

The sisters aren’t the only guests to report problems at the Airways, which describes itself as a “cheap budget hotel in Central London.” It’s rated #707 out of 1,062 London hotels on TripAdvisor, where one recent reviewer recommended staying away “unless you want bedbugs to eat you alive!!!”

“It’s very unfortunate what happened to these two ladies, but we have no way of being able to trace exactly where these infestations came from,” a hotel spokesman told the paper. “‘This incident happened 18 months ago…experts say there are 20,000 cases of bedbugs in hotels across the UK every year, five-star hotels included, so we’re not immune to the problem. We have a full-time contract with a pest control company and when problems are reported they come in immediately to deal with any issues.”

Continue Reading More: British Bedbug Victims Awarded Money By London Airway Hotel

8/23/2011 Half Of All College Dorms Have Bedbugs: National Pest Management Assocation Finds 54% Have Infestation

It’s time to send the kids back to school and college, and a new survey has just revealed that bed bug infestations are on the rise.

The National Pest Management Association found that 54 percent of college dorms have bed bugs. That’s up from 35 percent the year before. The report also says that 36 percent of schools and day care centers are infested, up from just ten percent.

On Monday Newschannel 3 got an inside look at the extra lengths one local college is taking to stop the bed bugs from biting.

It’s hard enough getting kids ready for college, with the books, snacks and supplies, without worrying about bed bugs, but experts say the critters should be taken into consideration.

“It’s not a matter of cleanliness,” said Dana Jansma, Kalamazoo College. “I mean it can happen to anyone, which makes it all that more difficult.”

Unfortunately the little critters are much more commonly found in places like a dorm, just ask the folks at Kalamazoo College, which had a bed bug issue last year.

“It’s the type of problem that will not go away on its own, and you cannot fight it with basic household chemicals,” said Jansma, “and if left untreated it can turn into a real disaster.”

K-College had bed bugs in a handful of their 500 residential hall rooms last year, so they started taking action. They brought in dogs and turned up the heat to as much as 140 degrees to kill the critters off. Now they’re pest free, at least that’s what the dogs indicated recently.

“We could tell for sure we did not have any problems and could have people move in and be able to assure them everything is clean and safe and healthy for students,” said Jansma.

But unfortunately, those at K-College know it could be only a matter of time before bed bugs catch a ride into the dorms again.

“It’s something hitting everywhere across the country,” said Jansma. “It has been a big hot topic in the past several years, we were lucky to go this long without having an issue.”

The best thing to tell your kids who are away at school is to bag and seal laundry when there is a known problem, and to wash clothes and sheets in hot water.

Continue Reading More/Watch Video: Half Of All College Dorms Have Bedbugs

8/22/2011 Austin Texas Spends Big To Get Rid Of Bedbugs: Housing Authority Has Spent Over $40k Already

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin has spent nearly $40,000 over the past year fighting bedbugs in 15 of its 19 facilities.

Since September 2010, the authority has been treating the insects, whose bites leave itchy red welts on the skin. Over the past year, 166 of the housing authority’s 1,928 units have been treated for bedbugs, said Sylvia Blanco , vice president of housing and community development for the agency.

“There are peaks and valleys,” Blanco said. “It also depends on the season, but right now we’re having a spike because people are trying to get out of the heat. They’re staying indoors, and sometimes they’re bringing the bugs with them.”

Bedbug infestations in recent years have increased dramatically all over the country. The bugs have wreaked havoc in all kinds of buildings: luxury hotels, department stores and private homes, to name a few. Locally, they’ve hit student apartments around the University of Texas and the Austin State Supported Living Center, which houses people with intellectual disabilities. Austin Travis Integral Care has spent $14,000 over the past year battling the bugs in seven of its 46 properties for people with mental illness.

The Austin housing authority contracts with Oliver Termite and Pest Control for monthly treatments for roaches, ants and other insects at all its housing facilities, Blanco said. The company sprays for bedbugs after receiving a complaint from residents. Each apartment generally gets one treatment, which could include two or three visits from the exterminator, Blanco said.

“Maybe on occasion it could take a second treatment,” she said. “But typically it’s pretty effective in the first treatment.”

If the bugs come back after the warranty period, usually 30 days after the last treatment, residents are required to pay for additional service, Blanco said. That costs residents between $175 and $265 . The pest control company also speaks with residents extensively on ways to avoid a reinfestation, such as inspecting all furniture before bringing it into the apartment.

The housing authority does not deny treatment to anyone and tries to be flexible when charging residents, all of whom are low-income, Blanco said. Many people pay off the bill through a payment plan.

Bedbugs are notoriously hard to get rid of because they are nocturnal and elusive and can go more than a year without eating. They hide in crevices, in furniture, even in books. In apartment complexes, they can easily travel from unit to unit, said Missy Henriksen, spokeswoman for the National Pest Management Association in Virginia.

“They will crawl through the baseboards, cracks in the walls and the electrical outlets,” she said.

Even the most extensive treatments can be ineffective. The Fort Worth Housing Authority spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last year battling bedbugs in one apartment complex — even paying to replace carpets and treat residents’ belongings — but still had to permanently shutter the building when the bugs refused to surrender. More than 200 residents had to move.

Simmie Burke, 68 , said he had bedbugs about a year ago in his third-floor home at Austin’s Lakeside Apartments, a Trinity Street complex owned by the housing authority. The pest control company sprayed, he said, which slowed the insects down. But when the insects returned a few weeks later, Burke decided to battle the bugs on his own, treating the apartment and all of his belongings with pesticide .

“A lot of people have them, but they’re ashamed,” Burke said. “They shouldn’t be. It’s not about hygiene. They’re all over the place.”

Continue Reading More: Austin Spends Big To Get Rid Of Bedbugs

Bedbugs On Way Up Says National Pest Association

Yuck.

Bedbugs are on the uptick in hotels, on public transport and in other public places.

So says a new survey from the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) survey. It found that infestations — even in hospitals — are up over last year.

Even the pest-control industry “has been surprised” by the resurgence of bedbugs and “where they’re being found,” NPMA public affairs VP Missy Henriksen tells me.

According to the just-released NPMA/University of Kentucky 2011 “Bugs Without Borders Survey,” involving 415 pest-control specialists, the creepy crawlers have multiplied and are found in places you might not expect.

Survey findings include:

* 99% of pest professionals have seen bedbug infestations in the past year (up from 95% in 2010)

*80% of pest professionals have treated bedbugs in hotels/motels, compared with 67% in 2010

*73% of pest professionals believe bedbugs are the most difficult pest to treat
*54% have treated bedbugs in college dorms, up from 35% in 2010
*46% have treated bedbugs in nursing homes, vs. 25% in 2010
*38% have treated bedbugs in office buildings, compared with 18% in 2010
* 36% have treated bedbugs in schools and day care centers, vs. 10% in 2010. That’s an amazing increase, as is the 31% who say they’ve found bedbugs in hospitals, vs. 12% in 2010
*18% have treated bedbugs in trains, buses or taxis, compared with 9% in 2010
*17% have dealt with bedbugs in movie theaters; 5% in 2010

RELATED:  Does your hotel have bedbugs? Check this registry

Why the increase? “Bedbugs are hitchhikers,” Henriksen says. More of us are traveling, and we lead increasingly mobile lives. Also, strong chemicals formerly used to treat bedbugs haven’t been allowed for decades, freeing the little biters to thrive.

The good news, if one can call it that, is that infestations can be treated, by steam, heat, freezing, chemicals, vacuuming or a combination of the above, Henriksen says. She offers some tips for travelers:

*When checking into a hotel, check behind the headboard and on the mattress for stains — blood or fecal matter indicating bedbugs may be present.

*Try to avoid leaving luggage on upholstered surfaces. The safest place is in the bathroom, on counters or in the shower, because the bugs don’t like uncarpeted or non-upholstered surfaces with no place to hide.

*While many find sites such as bedbugregistry.com, which contain reports by travelers and others about infestations, useful, Henriksen warns that since complaints are anonymous, they could be written by disgruntled competitors or employees. And a bedbug infestation that’s here today could be gone tomorrow if the hotel has a good pest control policy, she says. “And hotels are much more proactive now,” she says. Maybe, but if I see multiple, detailed reports of problems at a hotel, I don’t make a reservation. Better to be safe than sorry.

*The bad news is that more bedbugs are being found on trains and planes, she says. So it’s important to be vigilant when you arrive home.

That means immediately taking out all clothes and washing and drying them on “hot,” she says. Or bag them and send them to the dry cleaner if they’re delicate. Vacuum the suitcase thoroughly and dispose of the vacuum bag, she says.

Good tips. Do readers have any more? Have any of you brought bedbugs home from a trip and how did you eradicate them?

Continue Reading More: Bedbugs On Way Up Says National Pest Association

8/15/2011 Bedbugs Found At Wake Forest University: Canine Search Turns Up In Residential Space On Campus

8/14/2011 Bedbugs Make Pet Sick At Arizona Hotel: Holiday Inn Fountain Hills Guest Claims Cat Was Bitten

A Glendale woman is warning travelers to be extra cautious when bringing pets to a hotel after her cat got a costly infection she believes was caused by bedbugs.

The woman, who asked to be identified only as Elena, says she checked into a Holiday Inn in Fountain Hills back in July. Her air conditioner at home was broken, she said, and she brought her two cats with her.

After staying in the hotel room, Elena says she started itching. She showed ABC15 pictures of her neck covered in red bumps. She also showed us a photo of a tiny bug on a pillow.

After checking out, Elena says she got a checkup. According to medical documents she provided us, a doctor at North Valley Family Medicine examined her three days later and determined she had bedbug bites.

Elena says her cat was in worse condition.

“I noticed she was starting to pull her hair and itching,” Elena said. “I said let’s see in a couple of weeks if it gets any better. Within that time, it had gotten much worse. There were bald spots throughout the cat’s body and (pus).”

Elena took her cat to Apollo North Animal Hospital in Glendale. Dr. Patricia Bennett treated the cat. Bennett tells me the cat had “damage due to scratching an itch.” Bennett said there were “scabs, bumps, and lesions” from “head to toe.”

Bennett says she cannot prove this was caused by a bedbug but it is possible. Bennett also said she had examined the cat before and it did not have a pre-existing skin condition.

Should owners be concerned? Dr. Raegan Wells, with Emergency Animal Clinic in Gilbert, who was not involved in this case, says it is unlikely a bedbug caused the cat’s reaction.

“I’m not willing to say that it is impossible for a dog or cat to be bitten by a bedbug but it’s a very unlikely problem that a dog or cat would be bitten by a bedbug,” Wells said. “It’s a problem in the environment and bedbugs prefer humans as the host.”

Wells said she has seen clients who thought their pet had been bitten by bed bugs but, in each case, it turned out to be something else. According to Wells, she has not seen an actual case of a bedbug biting a house pet.

We contacted Holiday Inn for comment. Michael Lvov, a manager, told me over the phone, that the hotel did not have bedbugs. Lvov said they hired an external company to inspect several hotel rooms after Elena’s complaint. He provided documents showing that there was no evidence of bedbugs.

According to Johnny Diloné, Media and Community Relations Manager with the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department, MCES also did an inspection August 2. The inspector found no evidence to support the allegations made in the complaint, Diloné said.

MCES says there are no records of any insect, pest, or rodent violations at the hotel based on a record search from 2005 to present day.

After hundreds of dollars in vet bills and weeks of treatment, Elena has her own opinion. She advises other pet owners not to travel with their dogs or cats.

“Just put them in a kennel or take them to the vet,” she said.

If you do travel with pets, here’s some advice:

• Treat them for fleas and ticks ahead of time. Wells says this is a more common threat to pets.
•  Research the hotel. Wells says bedbugs are an environmental problem.
• Also, give your pets extra attention. Travel may cause anxiety in animals.

 Continue Reading More/Watch Video: Bedbugs Make Pet Sick At Arizona Hotel

8/11/2011 Battling Bedbugs In Austin Illinois: Town Hall Style Presentations To Educate Residents

The faces of Austin residents in attendance displayed noticeable disgust as John Phorbes, a professional exterminator, explained how best to fight those pesky and annoying bed bugs.

The North Austin Branch Library, 5724 W. North Ave., hosted an informational session on Saturday July 30, on how to combat the creatures. A packed audience filled the library’s meeting area to listen to Phorbes, owner of Rose Exterminators, who’s been in the business for 14 years. He told attendees that the bugs can come from a number of things, including garments belonging to neighbors, as well as students returning home from college. If bitten, 54 percent of people will have no reaction, Phorbes said, while 46 percent of people will have a delayed reaction-days or weeks-from a bite.

The bugs inject their own saliva prior to their bites, making their feeding painless and unnoticeable. They’re called bed bugs because they tend to feed on sleeping humans during the night, and mattresses are an easy place to breed. The bugs have a 2- to 3-year lifespan, resulting in an infestation of upwards of 500 bugs. They can also be found by light sockets and cracks in the wall, and the best way to control them, according to Phorbes, is through paying close attention and early detection.

Residents in attendance, though, were shocked and disgusted about the information they learned, many left scratching-and itching-in their seats. Phorbes also addressed several myths about the creatures.

Although they’re called “Bed Bugs,” they can be found in places outside the bedroom. Products advertised to control them also don’t have any real affect. Phorbes explained that among the best solutions is vacuuming and using green products-Cryonite, that freezes them to death, and old-fashioned fumigation. All of this, Phorbes noted, will take a lot of time to do thoroughly.

By the end of the presentation, he left residents with tips to stay pest-free.

• Take care of the household, be proactive (anyone can get them)
• Get rid of any mattress that is worn out or torn
• They are known to die in heat over 135 degrees, so if they are on your clothes, just throw them in the dryer in high heat.
• For most households, the bed bug epidemic is becoming more common than ever, according to Phorbes.
• Other know facts surrounding them is that some are known to carry diseases, such as HIV, but there are no cases reported in which they were able to transfer the virus to a human. If a bite mark is noticed, a visit to a dermatologist is a necessary option, as most cases are often misdiagnosed by a physician.

Continue Reading More: Battling Bedbugs In Austin Illinois